Office 2010 compatibility pack allows you to open, edit, and save files that you cannot deal with using older versions of Windows such as Windows 2007 and 2003. This compatibility pack can also be used alongside other windows products such as Microsoft Word and Excel Viewer 2003 and older versions of Power Points. 2010 compatibility pack from Microsoft comes with new features that you can’t find in the older versions, these include; the compatibility checker and compatibility solution that automatically resolves issues.

Office productivity suites on Microsoft have been improved with the launching of office 2010 compatibility; you can simply edit your pictures on documents and insert such pictures perfectly in your own presentation. Office 2010 pack is also ideal because many of the file formats on 2007 are also included in it, these include the XML format files. You can also edit videos directly in your PowerPoint with Microsoft 2010 compatibility software. One of the drawbacks of this software is that those using Microsoft packs older than 2007 may have issues of compatibility but you don’t have to be scared of this because developers of the 2010 pack have perfected plans to ensure cross-functional compatibility of files.

Just like Microsoft 2007, the structures of files have changed on office 2010 compatibility program. Word documents now end with .docx, instead of doc. 2010 compatibility pack can be downloaded and installed on older versions of the software – there is no need of removing the older versions.

Downloading and Installing Office 2010 compatibility pack

Both windows and Macintosh operating system users can download the compatibility pack; however there are some pre-requisite or computer systems requirements that must be followed in order to ensure the effective download and installation of the pack.

For the users of Microsoft office 2003 and Windows XP, the 2010 pack must be installed only after all the required system updates have been completed. Microsoft windows XP users will need to install 3 additional updates alongside the initial updates that are to be performed on their system. These are; Security updates for Microsoft Excel, Power Point updates , and Updates for Word documents.  No updates are needed for Microsoft Update 2000.

The supported operating systems for Office 2010 compatibility pack are; Windows 2000 service pack 4, windows 2003 OS, windows Vista, Windows Vista service pack 1, Window XP , Windows XP service pack 1, Windows XP service pack 2, and Windows XP service pack 3. Windows 7 Operating system is also supported.

To download and install your Microsoft office pack 2010 simply following these simple procedures;

Step 1: You need to verify that all necessary updates have been cleared, once these updates have been installed, then you can visit the Microsoft website, download and install the pack.

Step 2: Save the downloaded pack into the hard disk of your computer

Step 3: Click on the program file and double-click on the “Fileformatconverters.exe” in order to start the set up program.

Step 4: On-screen instructions will appear, simply follow these instructions to complete your installation.

Step 5: Restart your computer after the installation.

This program pack has been personalized to work with older versions of Microsoft office therefore you may find it installed as “compatibility pack for Microsoft 2007” – don’t worry about this because the formats are the same for office 2007.

 Installing your compatibility pack – things to note

The conversion software that comes with this pack will automatically allow your installed pack to automatically open, it will also help you save your office 2007 or 2010 documents the same way you will save them on older versions, therefore you can have your documents saved in windows 2003 formats if you like.

You need to install all updates before you download and install your office pack, to do this, simply open your windows explorer, click the tools menu and select windows update.  You will be directed to a “Welcome to windows update” page where you can simply click on the “express button”- this will automatically scan your computer for new or missing updates. In a situation where the computer scan locates some high profile third party updates, simply follow the instructions and to download such third-party updates, simply move to the next step when all updates have been downloaded or installed.

The next step after installing your update is to go to the Microsoft download center website and click on the download button which is located right inside the blue shaded region. You need to restart your computer after the download and installation of the Microsoft 2010 compatibility pack to prepare it for usage.

In some cases, you may have to disable some of your anti-virus security features in order to successfully install this compatibility pack. You can read further instructions and tips on how to use the Microsoft office 2010 compatibility pack on Microsoft download page.